The hip swiveling rock 'n' roll dance beats of Elvis Presley live again on Saturday, Nov. 24, at "Christmas with the King," an annual holiday tradition at the Union Colony Civic Center in Greeley.

Created by Elvis impersonator George Gray and his Elvis Experience band, this live show features gospel music and classic Christmas tunes recreated exactly as the king of rock 'n' roll would have performed them himself.

Every year the show features a different mix of musicians in addition to the core band. With over 430 songs recorded by Elvis, the band has a lot of material to work with.

"Every year we try to mix it up a little bit," Gray said. "We change songs out and we find gospel songs. This year we are going with a new light show package and a new stage design. We will have rock 'n' roll dancers and new costumes as well."

"Christmas with the King" started in 2008 when Gray approached the Union Colony Civic Center about the possibility of a large show. Marketing coordinator for the Greeley Culture Parks and Recreation department Andrew Segal believed in Gray's talent as a vocalist and wanted to see how a large show would come together. The first year, tickets sold out, and Gray's band has been playing to a full house of nearly 1,700 people every holiday season since then.

"This year I think he is doing something a little bit different where instead of having a big choir he walks up to a piano and does an Elvis jam session," Segal said. "I think the audience will get to see a fun Christmas version of what Elvis would do. I don't know if Elvis ever did a Christmas show, so this was George's insight into what Elvis might do. Elvis fans will enjoy someone who does a great job impersonating Elvis and a great show."

Gray never set out to perform as an Elvis impersonator professionally. His father played lots of Elvis records as Gray grew up, to the point where he memorized most of the songs and developed vocal intonations similar to Elvis' sound. Then, one night after work at a karaoke bar, Gray decided to get up and sing a few Elvis tunes. The crowd was hooked. After that time, people starting asking Gray to play for weddings, work parties and charity events.

"I was approached by a few guys over the years who wanted to put together a band, and now we have a 16-member band of backup singers, trumpets and trombones, sax players and flute players, keyboards and drums," Gray said. "Now we do a two-hour show."

Gray currently works as a morning radio host and performs three to four times a month. His professional phase as Elvis began with his first paid gig in 2000. He also enjoys performing for schools and with hospice for the elderly.

Back-up vocalist Kathleen Horning started with the band in 2008, and Gray describes Horning as the backbone of the band.

"There are really positive and strong relationships between the members of the band," Horning said. "Each person came through their own avenue. The common tie that we share is that we all love to do music, whether it is through instruments or voices. George Gray has got a wonderful personality. Another common tie would be that we believe in George's talent and we simply like him. What we have tried to do together with that relationship as a foundation is to as closely as possible recreate the music that Elvis and his backup groups created."

Gray, Horning and the band members work hard to recreate the original sounds of Elvis. At music practices, they dissect recordings and work out all of the band parts.

"The big compliment that I get from folks when they see my show is that they love the humor and the interaction with the crowd," Gray said. "That is what Elvis did. He was very good at interacting with the crowd, so it is not just me singing to the crowd. We re-create an Elvis concert. The ladies will come up and want to touch me when I sing to them. They will cry and shake and fight over a scarf. All of this would not be made possible without the band. They really make this thing. If I didn't have such a wonderful group of professionals, it wouldn't go over as well."

Horning knows that crowds come back again and again to hear Elvis rock 'n' roll authenticity.

"I know everyone has seen a cheesy Elvis performance here or there," she said. "This isn't a cheesy performance. We have tried to stay true to Elvis and honor him as the king of rock 'n' roll."

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